NPR 2008-04-23

Voters have been turning out in large numbers for today's Pennsylvania primary. Mark Nootbaar of member station WDUQ in Pittsburgh has more.

 This is the first time since the 80s the Pennsylvania primary has had any impact on the selection of a presidential candidate. New Democratic voter registrations 1 spiked 2 last month and thousands of Republicans switched parties. Voters in Pennsylvania must declare a party 30 days before the election. Democratic voter turnout is expected to reach above 50 percent. It's been seven weeks since the last primary and Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have used the time chasing Pennsylvania's 158 delegates with nearly daily appearances. Both candidates made campaign stops in the state yesterday. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton both worked the polls in Pittsburgh this morning. A few voting machine glitches 3 have been reported throughout the state, but none have been serious. In one polling place, early voters had to use paper ballots 4 as technicians worked to get the touch-screen voting machines started. For NPR News, I am Mark Nootbaar in Pittsburgh. Polls close at eight Eastern, a little less than one hour from now.

 President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to the North American Free Trade Agreement today in New Orleans. He was there meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada for a trade summit. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.

 The president said that since NAFTA took effect in 1994, trade has tripled and the economies of the three countries have grown by more than 50 percent. Responding to criticism from the Democratic presidential candidates who want to renegotiate the trade agreement, Mr. Bush said that's a bad idea. "Now is not the time to renegotiate NAFTA or walk away from NAFTA. Now is the time to make it work better for all our people and now is the time to reduce trade barriers worldwide. " Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper echoed Mr. Bush's commitment to NAFTA as it currently exists. President Bush also was asked about the economy and said the country is in a slowdown, not a recession. Jeff Brady, NPR News, New Orleans.

 A U. S. army engineer who worked in an armament research facility in New Jersey 5 has been arrested on charges he spied for Israel from 1979 to 1985. Federal prosecutors 6 and the FBI said that Ben-Ami Kadish allegedly slipped classified documents including information about nuclear weapons to an Israeli consulate 7 worker. Investigators 8 say the contact is the same individual used by convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard. According to a complaint filed with the U. S. Attorney's Office, Kadish is also accused of taking documents containing information about the F-15 fighter program and the Patriot 9 missile system.

 Latest home sales numbers were indicating the real estate market likely has further to fall. The National Association of Realtors says both home sales and home prices were down in March. Sales of existing homes fell two percent last month. The medium price of a previously 10 owned home was at 201, 000 dollars, down 7. 7 percent from a year ago.

On Wall Street, the Dow was down 104 points today.

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 An 18-year-old South Carolina teen accused of plotting to bomb his high school will face federal charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, a charge that could carry a sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors say that 18-year-old Ryan Schallenberger will face two lesser 11 federal charges in relation to allegations he plotted to detonate explosives in a suicide attack at a school in Chesterfield, a town in northeastern South Carolina. Schallenberger was arrested Saturday after his parents called police. He apparently 12 had ordered ten pounds of ammonium nitrate, a material that can be used to make explosives.

 The top editor of the Wall Street Journal has resigned. Marcus Brauchli took over just last May, but says new owner Rupert Murdoch deserves to have his own team. As NPR's David Folkenflick reports, Murdoch has sought to remake the journal.

 Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli told staffers Tuesday there had been no political or commercial interference in the journal's coverage 13. As Murdoch has meddled 14 with some of his other publications, that had loomed 15 as a concern when his News Corp. took over the journal and its parent company last year. But Murdoch does want the journal to shed its role as the premier 16 business publication, and instead, become the leading newspaper, a direct rival to the New York Times in the US and the Financial Times abroad. That means pumping up coverage of daily political developments, adding sports and shifting some financial articles to sections farther back in the paper. New publisher Robert Thompson, a trusted Murdoch aide and former editor of the London Times, will serve as the paper's interim 17 managing editor. David Folkenflick, NPR News, New York.

 Another new record for crude oil prices: crude was up $1.89 a barrel to close at a new high of $119.37 a barrel in New York.